Stuff for a 13 day walk?

[deerndingo]

Hi,
I've signed up for a 13 day walk with camels in the Simpson. I can take a 12kg load in the duffle bag, a sleeping bag and a day pack. The camel carries the duffle and sleeping bag and I carry a day pack. Apart from the usual stuff (torch, hat, medical, emergency rain coat, knife, etc) what would you pack. I've done 3 day walks where there is at least water at the start and near the end of the day's walk. There is no water on this trip other than for drinking. And I've never done a long walk like this. I intend taking a few packs of unscented wet wipes to clean down the essentials.

To all the experienced guys out there, what would you pack? Any tips?

So far the list includes microfiber shorts, long pants, t shirt x 2, long sleeve shirts x 2, wool socks x 7 pair, cotton undies x 7, camp shoes, down jacket,

We take our own mess kit. I make my own ration packs for hin=king and they work well out of a bowl. That isn't what happening on this trip. What would you take as a mess kit? Plastic or metal plates. Rob the kitchen for the knife and fork or what?

[Strider]

Light My Fire spork and eat out of your pot. Two pairs of socks will be enough.

[Nuts]

Warm pants, desert can be pretty icey in the morning.
Paw Paw cream is great for treatment of chaff and things that may irritate for long-time-no-shower.

[walkabout]

The longest walk I have done was 7 days, took 2 pairs socks (wore 1, 1 spare) - you won't need 7 pairs.

[Moondog55]

Simpson is hard on sox, I'd take 3 pair as it sounds like no washing of clothes will be the rule.
Also can get very cold at night, so plan for comfort at -5C at nite and sun/wind protection during the day. This is one part of OZ where a heavy duty cotton shirt wouldn't be out of place. This is where I'd be using my army shirt the older safari suit type or the similar US shirts and don't forget the hat and spare sunglasses
For this type of trip I'd be opting for stainless steel cup and plate or bowl, easy to clean with sand and wood ashes, a medium sized titanium dixie would be reasonable for the plate/bowl but having just bought a titanium dixie I'll be sticking to stainless for drinking out of
Sit mat too if it can live in the daypack

[dashandsaph]

I think your kit except for the socks sounds fine but I would also add a beanie, gaiters and sunglasses. +1 on the heavy cotton shirt. 3-4 pairs of socks are plenty. I'm not sure how bad the flies are but a net to go over the hat might be a lifesaver - 13 days of swatting would drive me barmy. If it will be really hot when you're there, think about how much water you want to carry - maybe a platypus would be worthwhile if you can't easily refill during the day. Have you included a sleeping mat?

[Gadgetgeek]

even if your boots are well broken in, you will want stuff to take care of your feet. it would suck to have to have a raw spot and have to walk on it. Tape, gauze, blister pads, are all good ideas. the tough part is that tape tends to roll under socks, so you end up using much more than you think you would.

everything else I know about desert walking is from books and ray mears. But one bit of very versatile gear is the UV Buff. facemask, head scarf, or soaked in water for cooling. Very handy bit of gear you might want to consider.

[Scottyk]

I work in a very hot environment (oil rig in the tropics) and my advice would be consider the colours of the clothing you plan to wear. Light colours are best, they will get dirty and look bad but who cares? Anything blue or black or red would be out. A long sleeve light cotton shirt or 2 would be good item.
Lip Balm will be a must as you will get dehydrated at some point and so this will lead to cracked lips.
Consider taking hydralyte or similar electrolyte drink. Some people don't need them some people do, if you find your getting cramped at nights then you need them. Don't drink them like water just one or two a day. They sell them in small single serve pouches that we get at work and they are convenient and easy.
Keep your personal hygiene up. Use your wipes regularly and stay on top of it as sweat rash will not go away once it has set in on the trip.
Monitor your hydration levels. Observe the colour of your urine and try and keep it straw coloured, if it goes dark then drink more immediately. Keep a diary of how much you are drinking, if bladders are your choice then write down how many times you have filled it in a day. There is not hard and fast rule about how much you should drink but if you watch your urine colour and frequency then you will know if you are keeping up.
We have guys drop over from heat stroke at work semi regularly and it really buggers them up. Often their body is permanently unable to cope with heat for the rest of their life so be meticulous with this aspect.
Hope this isn't suck eggs stuff for you but good reminders if it is
Have Fun

[deerndingo]

Hi All,
Well that was worth asking. Though it is all good common sense it just got my mind right about it.

A few questions:
I used to use cotton shirt and found they promoted me seating like a pig. Why the recommendation of cotton?

Apparently we are stopping every hour or so for a cuppa, so I'm thinking a 1Lt water bottle will be fine

Underwear? How many pairs do you reckon?

Thanks heaps. Good feedback!

[Scottyk]

Hi All,
Well that was worth asking. Though it is all good common sense it just got my mind right about it.

A few questions:
I used to use cotton shirt and found they promoted me seating like a pig. Why the recommendation of cotton?

Apparently we are stopping every hour or so for a cuppa, so I'm thinking a 1Lt water bottle will be fine

Underwear? How many pairs do you reckon?

Thanks heaps. Good feedback!

If you have got the room and can take the weight take a pair of undies for everyday. If you can't then cut it back 2 every second day. Remember that sweat rash is awful and will not go away once it has got hold.
When I say cotton shirt I mean a long sleeve, button up, very light material cotton shirt. The first purpose it serves it to keep the sun off, the second purpose is it brings your sweat up to be evaporated. Think what the arabs wear in the hottest paces on earth?

[Moondog55]

Well when I lived in The Alice it was not unknown for me to drink 3 or more litres of water an hour when working.
Cotton absorbs water from sweat and evaporates more slowly so it cools you and keeps the sun off at the same time, if that doesn't work for you some folk find a mesh layer under the cotton [ or even silk weight polyester] helps
Underwear is a very personal matter but be aware at the end of 4 days you're all going to stink to high heaven anyway so perhaps I would take 3 pair if cotton allowing for accidents of personal hygiene and even think about those running shorts in microfiber for better ventilation

[stry]

Yep ! Endorse the recommendations for light coloured natural fibres. "microfiber" can be a beast of many colours, and depending on its actual composition could be hot, non conductive of sweat, and stinky.

Whatever you choose to sleep in, I strongly recommend some sort of natural fibre liner to reduce the grot factor, which, as Moondog said, is going to be pretty high after 13 ablution free days.

[north-north-west]

You can't go past merino thermals for sleeping. It gets cold in the desert at night. Very cold. And they are far more stink-resistant than any other material.

[deerndingo]

The answers are getting only better though I think the winter out there may be cooler than first thought.

"The Simpson Desert has mild winters, with an average seasonal high of 68 F (20 C) and an average seasonal low of 41 F (5 C). The coldest month, July, sees temperatures ranging from 66 F (19 C) to 39 F (4 C). However, because desert temperatures drop dramatically when the sun goes down, July's nightly temperatures can drop below freezing."

After reading that I'm thinking it won't be too much heat to deal with, but sun and cold. I'm thinking layering with merino T shirt, Columbia shirt and jacket as last line. Pants can be worn over pants if needs be for legs. As for undies, I have 6 pairs of microfiber nickers that will do the trick fine by the sounds of it.

I'll read back over the replies and post a packing list for comment if that's OK.

Thanks for the input. It's been quite good.

[madmacca]

A 30 ml bottle of hand sanitiser is simpler, better and lighter at washing your hands before meals and after a c#*p. And saves water.

[icefest]

In the july of 2004 we had -4°C in central Australia. Take a bag that goes down to 2°C at the minimum.

Other than that, have fun and enjoy yourself, it'll be a blast.

[lorddas]

i drove the simpson last july, we got down to -2C one night. during the day it was around the 20 mark and was quite warm in the sun, but if you found yourself in some shade it was damn cold. awesome out there and being out there for 13 days would be sweet

[ex_reven]

Breathable neck gaiter - keep cool and stop the neck from burning, pull up to keep sand out of your mouth lol

[Moondog55]

Breathable neck gaiter - keep cool and stop the neck from burning, pull up to keep sand out of your mouth lol

Or do the Arab thing and get a proper shemaq which is actually a very versatile bit of kit if a little on the heavier side of UL